My first day that I spent propped up on the sofa with my broken knee, I was lucky enough to have several visitors stop by. One of them was my dear friend Nicola. It was actually her birthday and although I'd had to cancel going for lunch to celebrate her special day and hadn't even been able to wrap her present yet, she still came by bearing gifts for me instead. What a great friend! She brought a lovely little box of Rumi wisdom cards in a wooden stand for me to look at whilst I was incapacitated, in the hopes that they would inspire insightful writings and keep my mindset positive.

The very first one I picked out was this one pictured, which made me smile and got me thinking... That is exactly my mission, to spread love and joy wherever possible, to touch people's hearts and make even the smallest difference. As I wrote, when I was figuring out what Loveliness meant to me, part of it is about being a kind & thoughtful person, thinking of others and helping without needing to be asked. It is so easy to just rush about our daily business jetting from one thing to another, thinking only of ourselves and those we are responsible for, simply getting through our packed schedule one day at a time, only to wake up the next day to do it all over again... But occasionally it is ok to pause, look around, smell the flowers, reach out to someone and spread some love. It may not change the world, but I think if we are all a little more thoughtful towards others, perform random acts of kindness and offer help where it is needed, then at least this world will be a lovelier place to live in.

I have now spent two weeks being housebound and instead of feeling frustrated or getting bored, my self-confidence and faith have soared that I am indeed pursuing the right path. I have experienced an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the amount of people that have offered their help, been to visit, brought us meals, come bearing thoughtful treats or just stopped in to cheer me up and make me a cup of tea. Immense gratitude also for my dear friends and family around the world who obviously can't visit but have kept me occupied by sending messages, emails and cards. I've not had any time yet to feel bored! The amount of love that has come pouring back through our door in these past two weeks has been thoroughly moving and almost unbelievable. I cannot thank everybody enough for all of the love and kindness, it really has meant so very much to me and our little family. THANK YOU!!

Through it all, I have come to realise that being LOVELY is indeed exactly the way to be. We may not be rich, we may not be famous, we may not be changing the world (yet) but we have obviously done something right so far. By being who we are and striving to be thoughtful, good, kind people we have more love, joy and happiness in our lives than any money could buy.

So I encourage you all to be kind, be thoughtful, share some joy and simply spread the love...

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Lovely Lyrics ...

"If the world was mine, I'd tell you what I'd do, I'd wrap the world in ribbons and then give it all to you. I'd teach the birds such lovely words and make 'em sing for you. I'd put the stars right in a jar and give them all to you." - Melody Gardot